Fitting for tightening, holding and releasing a tennis net or other cord or wire under strain



Aug. 13, 1935. w. GQ'BOYD 2,11,534

FITTING FOR TIGHTENING' HOLDING AND RELEASING A TENNIS NET OR OTHER CORD QR WIRE UNDER STRAIN Filed June 28, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l ALM- 11 IIIIIIIII 2/ L 3 .52 7

ImNToR WILLIAM. G. BOYD ATTORNEYS W. G. BOYD Aug. 13, 1935.

2,011,534 FITTING FOR TIGHTENING HOLDING AND RELEASING A TENNIS NET OR OTHER CORD OR WIRE UNDER STRAIN Filed June 28, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM G.

BOYD

{UNITED Patented Aug. 13, 1935 PAT ENT' OFFICE This invention relates to means for tightening,

holding and releasing a tennis net or other cord or Wire under strain and has for its object to provide'an improved construction and arrangement embodying "frictional locking members operated bylah'andlever, movement of which inone direction tends to vtauten the cord or wire and lock samev and in. the opposite direction to efi'ect a releasing movement.

-- The present invention consists in the provision ofmeans for straining, locking and releasing a cord or wire mounted within a hollow straining post and 'co-operating with the parallel internal walls or surfaces of said post to function. w'Means are also provided whereby a hand operating lever can drop into its inoperative position within the substance of the post leaving only a small external part for gripping when required for'user l Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example constructions according to the invention and in which: I I

.= Fig. '1' is apart'sectionalelevation'of the invention; -:;Fig. 2 is'a side viewofFig. 1. Fig.3 shows detail of upper gripping member, 'Fig; 4 shows detail in part sectional elevation 'of"mo'dification. i P

* Fig; 5'shows the mechanism'of Fig. 4 with the I operative parts in their folded condition'within the strainingpost. I

1 According to the drawings the straini ng post {1 .isconveniently formed as a hollow memberwith an internal rectangular space, the opposed sides '2 having parallelrelationship as shown by inset section in Fig. -1. The invention is not limited to therectang'ular section of the interior of the post, the main requirement being that thehollow parts 'have'parallel sides and sufiicient internal space to accommodate the gear. 4

The post I has a pulley 3 mounted'at its head the base, and is brought into a position whereby the cord can be engaged by the upper gripping member 6. This member 6 is formed of a little greater length than the distance apart of the parallel sides 2 so that its shoulders 611 can engage the sides with slight angularity, In the form shown, see. Fig. 3, a central part 1 extends forward of the shoulder'fia and protrudes through the slot 5 in the post I and is provided with a straining'hook 8 on its upper extremity and projection 9 on its lower extremity. The member 6 is connected. tow the inner end? of the. operating lever H] by pivoted link I l. The lever II! is pivoted at M to the rear end of the lower gripping device l2 and is further provided with a loop'or catch l3, the latter being designed to be'placed the link l andupper gripping member 6 and "thereby strains the cord'4. When the leverfilfl reaches the end of itsmaximum'useful travel the upper gripping-member fi under tension'from the cord is caused to jam and remain in a locked position; Movement downward of the lever I!) new releases the lower gripping member 2' which is then free to take up a lower position with the handle depressed. Immediately, however, the lever ll] is raised the lower gripping member 12 lever ID to draw down the'upper gripping'rne'm her 6 andwith it the cord4. "This operation is repeated untilthe desired tensionzis obtained'on the cord 4. To release the cord holding-device the lever 10 is raised allowing the loop l3 to. engage the hook part 9 when the upper (and lower) gripping members are freed, and. the mechanism moves upward within the post.

Figs. 4-and-5 show details of a modification in which the loop l3is dispensed with,and the hook 9 omitted from the upper gripping member 6,

handle to appear as parts external to the straining post. In this form the upper gripping-member 6 is provided with-the cordhook 8 and-is jams again giving a stationary fulcrum for the allowing only thecord hook 8 and the end of the f pivoted to link II which carries an upsetting arm I la, the end of link ll remote from gripping member 6 being pivoted to lever l0. Lever I0 carries a second link llb pivoted to the lower gripping member I 2, the latter being formed with .a trip finger [2a which protrudes from the slot 5 only when the cord is being tautened.

The operation of this form of the invention is similar tothat of the form previously described thereby tauten the cord. v

except straining is effected by a downward movement of the lever l0 and that to release the top gripping member themember I2 is tripped and the lever is smartly pushed in when the arm Ha contacts with the back part of member 6 and frees it from engagement thus allowing the whole gripping device to slide upwards within the cavity of the post. i When in operation'the cord is tautened and the upper gripping memberis in its condition .of fixity, the whole of the remainderpf the actuating gear is free to fall and ccupy the position shown in Fig. 5.

From the foregoing it will b observed that a cord straining and fixing device is provided whose operative parts are within a cavity of the post, and that the actuating lever'whe'n not in 'u'seis free to fall to its inoperative position and'lie mainly out of sight and create no externalob struction. Further, the greater the tension on the slot and'having means thereon forcord attachment, an operatinglever pivotally connected to the lower element, and a; link connecting an end of said lever to the upper element and operative by up and down movements of the lever to cause the gripping members alternately to lock and release and thereby descend within the post and 2. Atightening device of the scribed comprising a hollow post having opposed parallel walls, and having a slot formed in one of said walls, upper and lower gripping elements "extending-between said walls and inclined downwardly toward one; of saidwalls; the lower end of oneof said, elements having a portion for attachment thereto of the part to be tightened,

and an operating, lever extending throughisaid provided with a lon itudinal slot, upper and lower gripping elements within the post both extending transversely thereof between said parallel walls and inclined downwardly toward the slotted wall, a portion 0f OI1e OfS 9 ,id. elements extending through said slot and having 1 means for V the attachment thereto of the part to be tightened,

and an operating lever extending through said slot and pivotally connectedat different points inits length to the lower ends of said inclined gripping elements to move one of them into gripping engagement withsaid opposed walls and character deto move the other gripping element in a direction to release it from said walls when said lever is swung in one direction.

4. A tightening device comprising a hollow post having opposed parallel walls one of which is provided with a longitudinal slot, a pair of gripping elements within thebost both extending in inclined directions ,transv'ersely thereof be tween said parallel walls and engageable there- ,with, the length of said elements being greater than the distance between said opposed walls, one i of said elements having means thereon for the attachment thereto of the part to be tightened, and an operating lever extending throughsaidslot and having its fulcrum pivotally connected to one of the gripping members at a point adjaat a point adjacent to the slotted wall.

5. A tightening device comprising a hollow post having opposed parallel walls one of which is provided with a longitudinal slot, a pair of grip ping elements within the post both extending in inclined directions transversely thereofbetween said parallel walls and engageable therewith, the length ofsaid elements being greater than the cent to. the slotted wall and having means pivotally connected thereto beyond its fulcrum and pivotally connected to the other gripping element V distance between said opposed walls; one of said elementshaving means thereon for-the attachment thereto of the part to be tightened, an operating lever extending through'said slot and having' its fulcrum pivotally connected to one of the gripping members. at a 'point adjacent. to the slotted wall and'having means pivotally connected thereto beyond its fulcrum and pivotally connectedtothe other gripping element at a point adjacent to the slotted wall, said lever being movable into the slot in the post, and a releasing portion operative by the movement of said lever into said slot to swing one of the gripping members into, a more inclined position between. saidopposed" walls andthereby release thegrlp of element on said walls.

6. A tightening device comprising a hollow .post

having opposed parallel walls one of which is,

provided with a longitudinal-slot,'a pair of gripping elementswithin the post both extending in inclined directions transversely thereof between said parallel walls and engageable therewith, the

erating lever extending through said slot andhaving itsfulcrum pivotally connected to one of the gripping elements at a point adjacent to the slottedwall, a linkpivotally connecting said lever at a point atone side of its fulcrum to the other gripping element at a point adjacent to the slot- ,edwalhand means engageable with the gripping element having means thereon for the attach-] ment thereto of the part to be tightened and operative by said lever to move'said gripping element into a more inclined position between the opposed walls and thereby release it therefrom.

, WILLIAM GRENVILLE BOYD. 

